COLLEGE PARK, MD.-- - The No. 8 Maryland (7-3) men's soccer team lost a 2-1 decision at home to No. 21 Virginia Commonwealth (7-1-1) on Saturday night at Ludwig Field. Before Saturday night's loss, the Terrapins had not lost a home game since Oct. 30, 1998, when Clemson beat the Terps 2-0.

The Terrapins struck early in the battle between the two South Atlantic Region foes when senior Jason Cropley (La Canada, Calif.) netted one just 2:16 into the contest off a Rob Birch (West Islip, N.Y.) assist. Virginia Commonwealth would waste no time, answering the Terp goal just over five minutes later. Ricardo Capilla scored that one for the Rams while Kevin Jeffrey got credited with the assist.

The game-winning goal would be a "own goal" when Maryland's Nick Downing (Redmond, Wash.) got a head on a Jeffrey cross and deflected it into the net. The goal would end the scoring for the night, and despite several good chances for the Terps would also end Maryland's ten-game home win streak.

The Terrapins now hit the road for a four-game away stint, which includes local battles with American and George Mason, as well as a match-up with William & Mary at the Virginia Beach Sports Complex. An ACC battle with North Carolina starts off the Terps' road trip next Saturday at 7 p.m. Maryland returns home on October 23 for an ACC match-up against Wake Forest. Start time for that game is 7:30 p.m.